Halloween 2007

All printed papers by www.geta2z.com - Junk Drawer by Nicole Iehle. Journaling font John Handy downloaded from the internet. Hero Arts alpha stamps. MM large foam stamps. Ribbon from my stash. Used the Basic Grey tool to cut the pinking edge. I put the word 'Spooky' in the photo before I sent it for printing. However the printer zoomed in too much and so the 'S' and the 'Y' got cut off partially. On a whim I decided to add the word back again after finishing the scans of the layouts.

.... YIKES! I just realized that I made a mistake with the dates on both layouts!! They should say 'Halloween 2007'

Halloween 2007: Ricky told me that this year he felt he was too old to go trick or treating. And neither him nor Lily wanted to dress up. So instead we decided to go see other folks all dressed up for Halloween. The best place to do this is in the evening (special Halloween timings) at the Hong Kong Ocean Park. The park is transformed for almost a whole month into a spooky place, full of scary characters - both real and props. They also have mazes you walk through where all sorts of things jump out at you. Weird sounds and a smoky haze in the dark make this an ideal outing for Halloween. Joe, Lily & I loved it. What we did not anticipate was how scared Ricky would be! Even though he is almost 12 this was still a bit too much for him. He was stoic while we were in the park because it was his idea. But by the time we exited, the poor guy was white with fright! Let's what he suggests next year :-)

And now something to make all of us feel good about ourselves!

Cutest lil Clown

First layout done with printed papers & flower from Sassafrass Lass. Flower brads from my stash - not sure who makes them. When my children were younger we used to live in a place where the neighbourhood was really stuck-up and unfriendly. So on days like Halloween it was really sad because there was nothing. This year I tried to organise a little something but as you can see only a handful of kids showed up. Lily still talks about how sad it all was!

Second layout is done with Club Scrap Caribbean kit, chipboard label and a rub on. Ribbons from my stash. Photos from one of our many many trips to Phuket. So I just wrote about how I love that little cap Lily is wearing and how it was almost impossible to get her keep anything on her head.

P.S. Both layout designs inspired from the current CK magazine. And since I am running late today, I'll skip the video. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Easter 07

Today is the birthday of Buddha. It is a public holiday here so I had time to complete 3 layouts and watch the last 4 episodes of Grey's Anatomy. Tonight I shall watch the latest episode of the Tudors. Interesting serial, that. Love the casting of Anne Boleyn. Naughty stuff kept the Tudors busy ... ROLF!

Three layouts for three different albums, all from our Easter lunch with friends this year.

First layout is done using Club Scrap Impressionist Art kit from Aug 2000. I also used 'Thickers' alpha stickers from American Arts, Making Memories rub-ons, Hero Arts alpha stamps & Paper Pizazz ribbon stickers. 'Pasqua' is Italian for Easter.

Second layout uses Sassafrass Lass Tickled Pink papers, a ribbon, some mini alpha stickers from Sticko Bookworks and a photo holder. Layout design copied from one in a CK magazine. The scalloped edge is done with the Basic Grey notch tool.

Third layout uses Basic Grey Skate Shoppe papers & Alphabets. Paper Pizazz ribbon stickers and Hero Arts Alpha stamps complete this straightforward layout. The ampersand is hand cut from this very nice thick velvet paper. Again, layout inspired by one in a CK magazine.

Will is shy and does not like getting his photo taken. I was lucky that he did not run off but he does look serious, does he not? Ricky on the other hand ... :-)

*******

If snakes bother you, maybe you should not watch this one. But it is quite funny!

And I am sure most of you have been to Las Vegas and seen the fountains of the Bellaggio. It is something I must see every time I visit. I have recorded some snippets but none as good as this following video. It is a decent recording and the song is so lovely! Enjoy!!

The same video as seen from a Lake View room at the Bellaggio.

Anastasia

Seems like déjà vu - wait it is! I have a work dinner to go to this evening and so I am able to complete just one layout. Yesterday we had Japanese Yakitori cuisine. I love this style of Japanese food. It is fun to eat tiny kebab like morsels on sticks slightly bigger than toothpicks! And hot sake ... yum! We had everything - from traditional chicken wings to quails eggs rolled in bacon to grilled shitake mushrooms. I thought we had ordered just right but halfway through we were so full! Little bits and pieces fill you up without you realizing it.

Layout done with K & Co papers, Kambly rub-ons , Magic Scraps sticky rub on alphabets & gold leaf, Heidi Swapp crystal stickers and some digital prints that I cut out.

Halloween of 1998: We were invited for a really nice party. Lily dressed up as Princess Anastasia. That was the year the movie was released and so at the party there was every version of Princess Anastasia! Poor Lily! She wanted to be special. Instead she became part of a large crowd of princesses. LOL! The redeeming factor was a really great party for the kids. Lots of fun & games and treats.

Now, if you are a cat lover you will adore this video ...
ETA: There are a few shots of cats jumping out at kids just in case that bothers you.


And if you love both cats and Jane Austen, like me, this one is for you!

Xmas in HK

This is the first year after my marriage that we did not go to Europe for Christmas. After 18 years of living in this city, it was about time we spent one Christmas in our home!

Plus points: I had to do up just one tree and one set of decorations. I did not have to rush on boxing day to clear up and pack away everything because we had a flight to catch. I did not have to get on a plane! (Can you tell that I am not overly fond of flying?) I always wanted to make an elaborate holiday meal. In Italy the MIL still handles it all. This year I had a great time planning and making Boxing Day lunch. Christmas lunch was a relaxed affair with friends. It was nice to be able to sit outside!

Negatives: I missed the cold! Never did I imagine that the cold had become such an essential part of Christmas for me. Family and friends dropping in to visit. All the wonderful foods that one can get only in Italy during Christmas. I missed packing 300 gifts. Well, not really 300, but this year it just the four of us exchanging gifts. Usually I have to pack at least 30 different packages. And I enjoy all the different packaging ideas the Italian magazines have for Christmas.

Ricky and Lily wrote letters to Santa. Ricky's letter was in earnest, asking for an Xbox360 and a game. Lily's letter was tongue in cheek, asking to go to Italy. Unfortunately neither of them got what they asked for!

All papers from Chloe's Closet. A few rub-ons (BG & some really old border ones) and some chipboard was all that went into these quick layouts. The one for Ricky is a BH layout. Lily's layout is adapted from a CTMH advertisement.

Halloween 06

What is different this Halloween? The costumes! I designed and made them at home for the first time ever!

Lily wanted to be Mother Nature. So we had blues and greens flowing over a white dress, white daisies as accents at the waist and neck. And white daisies in her air. Lily got chosen to be the magician's assistant and she was thrilled!

Ricky had a rich purple wizard's velvet cloak with gold accents. I loved how the wizards hat turned out. The great thing about making it at home? It actually fit Ricky's head and stayed on all evening!
Even though he was very excited about Halloween, Ricky told me that this would be the last year he went trick or treating. He felt like he was too old. Poor baby! He sounded so sad ...

I am finding the Fooflala prints pleasing to work with. Both designs copied from this months CK.

3 Easter layouts

We did our usual thing for Easter - lunch at the club with friends. We were 11 of us but for some reason this time we did not take a group photo. I love the food at Eau. The spread is awesome, as always. The three layouts are for 3 different albums.

Green Double page layout: Printed papers are from the Paper Salon. I am really enjoying working with this line called Palazzo. The prints are classy and very versatile. This is what I hope the first of many pages that I must complete. The photos have been piling up a lot lately.

Blue Single page layout: Papers & Coasters are from Imagination Project. Sutton Place line.

Pink Single page layout: Tickled Pink by Sassafrass Lass. I still do not like these papers but since I have to use them up and they seemed appropriate for easter for DD's album, I tried my best. Wish I could find a etter font for the title but this was all I had in my stash. Scanning this page was a nightmare because of all the lumpy stuff.

Happy Easter!

This is for a DT: The journaling on this layout says "Sweet little girl makes a very scary little bunny!" And if you saw the smaller photos in colour, you would surely have nightmares!! The paint on her face is just horrendous! I love the fact (Thanks Michi for pointing it out!) that her two front teeth are missing and the bunny seems to have taken it. A happy coincidence. The bunny's tummy is a shaker box, which was a requirement for this Easter layout. I had to search my old photos to find something 'Easterish' to make this layout. Never thought I would scrap the ugly bunny photos from 1999!

And using the leftover papers (Paper Patch easter words) and stamps from PSX & Stampa Rosa (Bunny in can - from Alesa Baker designs ~ now calls Imression Obsession its home) I made some cards for the Italian side of the family. Water colour pencils (I love Caran D'Ache) and a blending pen are my favorite colouring technique right now.

Natale

Layout for my album with my favorite photo from Christmas of 2005. Papers are from Chloe's Closet (I hope I remembered the name correctly - there are so many these days!). I am enjoying using the Hero Arts stamps that look like stitching. Very nice indeed!

What did Santa get you this year?

Ricky wrote a lovely letter to Santa asking for just one thing - a "very hard to find" game for his Play Station 2. Since he has been such a good boy this year, Santa had a surprise for him. Not only did he get his PS2 game, he also got a super cool Game Boy!

Christmas Lunch

The tree on the right hand side of the page was a last minute inspiration. I cut out the tree from a scrap piece of paper. Then using the negative as a stencil, I used a 'Pine Bough' stamp to fill it in. Then I just placed the circle stickers & the star on top.

Christmas lunch was at a very nice hotel in Salice Terme. Nonna was so pleased that we were given a private room - she thought that the hotel was treating her special and that made her day! Seated next to Masha is her brother who is a musician on a cruise ship which happened to be in Genoa during Christmas. Ricky, you were very well behaved and ate almost everything of this very special menu – this made me very happy! You also provided great entertainment for your cousin Lauretta with whoops & whistles. She really enjoys being with you!